Many electrical components are grouped together and stored in racks or the like. These electrical components, for example network switches and the like, typically include a multitude of cables and wires. For example, a typical network rack of Cisco 6509® switches includes 288 cables for just the networking features alone.
Network equipment requires proper cable management in order to utilize the hot swappable features and prevent the multitude of cables from becoming an unmanageable mess. For example, without proper cable management, the removal and replacement of a single damaged or broken network switch may impact the entire network since cables to a plurality of network switches may have to be removed in order to gain access to the broken network switch. Not only is this labor intensive and thus expensive, but it is also highly disruptive to the overall network.
While cable management systems currently exist, the know systems suffer from several problems. Many of the known cable management systems are not retrofittable to existing racks. Not only does this require the purchase of expensive racks, but it also requires significant network downtime since all of the network switches need to be removed from their existing rack and reinstalled in the new rack.
Additionally, while the known cable management systems generally organize the cables, they do not organize the cables such that only cables associated with a specific piece of equipment are grouped together. For example, the known cable management systems allow cables to adjacent pieces of equipment to be grouped together. As a result, if a specific piece of equipment needs to be removed, one or more adjacent pieces of equipment often also have to be removed, thus negatively affecting the overall network and increasing labor/maintenance costs.
Moreover, the known cable management systems do not prevent cables from being run over fan cards of the like. In a typical installation, one or more fan cards are typically disposed along an outer edge of the rack. For example, in a typical rack of Cisco 6509 switches, the fan card is typically disposed along a left side or edge of the rack. These fan cards often need to be replaced. However, the known cable management systems do not prevent cables from being inadvertently run over the fan card. As a result, the replacement/removal of a fan card often requires cables to be disconnected from one or more network switches, thus negatively affecting the performance of the entire network and further increasing labor/maintenance costs.
Accordingly, what is needed is a cable management system that can be easily and inexpensively retrofitted to an existing rack. The cable management system should also preferably organize the cables such that the removal/replacement of a single piece of equipment does not affect any other piece of equipment. Additionally, the cable management system should also preferably prevent cables from being run over/across specific pieces of equipment such as fan cards or the like.
It is important to note that the present invention is not intended to be limited to a system or method which must satisfy one or more of any stated objects or features of the invention. It is also important to note that the present invention is not limited to the preferred, exemplary, or primary embodiment(s) described herein. Modifications and substitutions by one of ordinary skill in the art are considered to be within the scope of the present invention, which is not to be limited except by the following claims.